A Grip on Sports: The year’s (seemingly) longest month is over, yielding the floor to a jam-packed February, which punches far above its length

A GRIP ON SPORTS • The shortest month of the year is upon us. But that doesn’t mean February’s 28 days isn’t packed fuller than the bulging carry-on I tried to force into the overhead bin on my last plane flight. Heck, even the stars seem to be aligned.

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• Don’t fret. I’ll get to yesterday’s wins. By Gonzaga’s men. And Washington State’s. Idaho’s. Whitworth’s. The Zag women and their successful trip to Pullman even appears down below. High school, college and professional sports on the final Saturday of January.

But right now the focus is on what’s ahead over the next four weeks. And why not?

By the time I spy the first crocus on March 1 – hopefully – I’ll have shared thoughts with you on either the Seahawks’ second Super Bowl win or … well, the alternative is just too awful for you to fret about. At least not today. Plenty of time before next Sunday.

What else?

Maybe clarity on the NCAA basketball fortunes of our area’s one consistent tournament participant. Though Gonzaga’s fortunes might depend more on a knee ligament’s failure than anyone would have imagined on New Year’s Day. The month ahead will end with the Bulldogs trying to re-create what they did last night in the Kennel at the bandbox Saint Mary’s calls home. More than likely doing it without Braden Huff, who I didn’t see on their bench Saturday.

There is more certainty available in the baseball world, as spring training will be in full swing – literally. The question there isn’t rhetorical but practical. Will the Mariners have made enough offseason moves to propel them one more step along their 2026 journey?

Wait. There was more thing but I just can’t put my finger on it. Oh, right. The Winter Olympics. From my late summer stomping grounds. Italy. For three quarters of the month, beginning with Friday night’s Opening Ceremonies, all of us will be assaulted with flag-waving, tears of joy and despair, a few sports we only watch every four years and more sequined attire than a cotillion. How fun.

• OK, our thoughts on Saturday’s sports.

– The golf was also fun. Always is when Clarkston native Joel Dahmen’s bucket hat is on the TV. And his name is on the leaderboard. He’s in second place in San Diego. OK, he’s a half-mile behind leader Justin Rose but, hey, Ricky Bobby used to say something about second being first.

– I can’t remember the rest of that saying but I do remember what I saw of the Australian Open men’s final overnight. Nada. Kim stayed up to watch. I hit the sack. Though Donut woke me after the first set, upset because he had wagered 16 dog biscuits on Carlos Alcaraz and Alcaraz had lost 6-2. The old guy, Novak Djokovic, seemed on his way to his 25th Grand Slam title. Age over young talent? Nope. Alcaraz won the next three sets and, at 22, became the youngest ever to win all four Slams.

– The reason I was in bed before midnight (barely)? The sword of Damocles that is this column every morning. Talk about pressure. Though not as much as I felt last night writing my TV Take about the ESPN broadcast of GU’s 73-65 win over the Gaels. Conference realignment has torn asunder so much of what we’ve all cherished over the years. The Pac-12 rivalries that have been around since childhood, whether you are 18 or 80 are at the forefront, sure, but that conference’s demolition has also splintered the rest of the West.

Saturday night’s game in McCarthey illustrated that more than any other single competition this year. It wasn’t just the last Spokane appearance of Randy Bennett and his Gaels, it also marked the end of ESPN’s broadcast of those Kennel showdowns. Dave Flemming and Sean Farnham’s last visit after 15 years of bringing the WCC’s best rivalry into our homes.

Catching the essence of that was not easy. Beyond me, actually. It was almost impossible to capture the emotion Farnham, who has made it his mission to be part of the Spokane charitable community, shared as the game wound down. He seemed overwhelmed.

Endings will do that to you. Even endings that come with more than a month left before the Zags bid adieu to the WCC. And start their journey in the rebuilt Pac-12.

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WSU: There will be new basketball rivalries constructed next season. If the Cougar men continue their upward trend of the past couple weeks, those rivalries may just have a strong foundation before February ends. David Riley’s team outscored Portland 104-74 on Saturday afternoon in Pullman. Greg Woods was there and has this story. … A few hours later the Cougar women took over Beasley, welcoming in their counterparts from Spokane. It was close throughout, with the Zags pulling away late for an 81-75 victory. Greg Lee traveled down U.S. 195 and has this coverage. … Rosemary Longisa ran a 4 minute, 24.59 second mile Saturday in Seattle, the third-fastest in NCAA history. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner’s mailbag ran in the S-R today. We linked it yesterday when it was on the Mercury News website. … We linked this Washington Post story a week or so ago. ACL injuries and women athletes. It is on the S-R site today. … The Oregon State men were down 10 with less than 2 minutes left. And roared back to win in overtime. … Oregon hosts No. 25 Iowa today. … Colorado tries to bounce back again, this time against TCU. … USC won, at home. Against Rutgers. That seems important. … UCLA did not win. At home. Against Indiana. In double overtime. That also seems important. … All Arizona does is win. Google it. The Wildcats are 22-0 for the first time. Ever. The latest? In Tempe. Against in-state rival Arizona State, 87-74. … Fresno State won, topping last-place Air Force. … The Mountain West game of the day? In Logan, as Utah State topped beat-up San Diego State and moved into a tie atop the standings with the Aztecs. … California picked up an ACC road win at Miami. … Wyoming won the rivalry game with Colorado State. … The Oregon State women just keep rolling along. … Oregon rolled over No. 16 Maryland on the road. … Colorado wins when it defends at its best. … Colorado State lost to UNLV. 

• In football news, as we like to say, recruiting never stops. Not for Washington. … Nor at Colorado State, though some bridges needed mending in the state.

Gonzaga: The last Kennel matchup between Saint Mary’s and the Bulldogs was treated the same as any over the past 25 years. Theo Lawson led the way with this game analysis and the bulk of the written part of the recap with highlights. … Jim Meehan, who has been around for all of the big games between the schools, had three takeaways right after the final buzzer. He also has a story on the Zags’ defense. … There is also a bunch of photos from Tyler Tjomsland, though I cannot get the link to work. … As I said, I had my thoughts on the broadcast. … If you are looking for Greg Lee’s story on the women’s game vs. WSU, I’ll link it here again. … Back to the men. Could this be Gonzaga’s national title year? … We can also pass along a story about Saint Mary’s from the Bay Area. 

EWU: It’s not easy to win in Greeley, Colo. The Eagle men came close, within a missed 3-pointer of overtime, actually, but fell 74-71 on Saturday. … The women also fell to the Bears, dropping a 71-62 decision at Reese Court. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, it is not often I get to pass along a story that focuses on one of my former basketball players. Today is one of those days. Record-setting Ferris High grad Kacey Spink was honored at Idaho State before the Bengal win. … Montana had its four-game win streak snapped. … Everyone is chasing Montana State, which won again. … The Montana men did not play well and lost to Sacramento State. … Idaho State lost to Weber State. … Portland State shot well and defeated Montana State. 

Idaho: The Vandal men and women found ways to get past Northern Arizona. The men won in Flagstaff, the women in Moscow.

Whitworth: The best way to answer your first conference loss of the season? The Pirate men did it with a 93-85 comeback win at Willamette.

Chiefs: Dave Nichols was in the Arena and has this coverage of Spokane’s 4-0 win over Brandon. It was parents’ weekend for the players and that made the shutout even more special for goalie Linus Vieillard, whose parents made the trip from Germany.

Preps: There was a new wrinkle in the high school wrestling season this year. An invitational team tournament. The Gonzaga Prep boys won the 4A title, topping Mead in Puyallup. That news leads off the roundup of Saturday’s events.

Zephyr: Spokane was back in action yesterday. In Florida. Where it drew with last-place Tampa Bay.

Seahawks: Dave Boling takes a little break today from the overwhelming leadup to next Sunday’s Super Bowl. He shares the story of former Hawk guard Mike Gibson, who threw a key block on Marshawn Lynch’s “BeastQuake” run. And then was laid low by addiction. Now Gibson spends his life opening holes for others who are going through what he battled for years. … We have a lot of stories to pass along about the game, of course. Some of which we have linked before. … The biggest one? How did the Hawks turn around their mediocre fortunes? … Yes, we found a Sam Darnold story. More than one actually. … The sale? The franchise will be sold eventually. The Paul Allen estate denies there are plans to put it up right after the Super Bowl but it doesn’t matter. Every team is for sale for the right price. … Riq Woolen paid a large price for his taunting tantrum. … Michael Dickson is always looking for an edge.

Mariners: Fan Fest is a fan-friendly event held each year in Seattle just before spring training. Saturday’s was a bit different, however. The M’s not only played the role of the fan’s heroes, they switched caps to profess their fandom in the Seahawks.

Kraken: This up-and-down team is on a huge upside run right now. The Kraken topped first-place Las Vegas last night for their fourth consecutive win.

Sounders: Stefan Frei is no longer with Seattle in its Spanish training camp. He came home for personal reasons.

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• Short month, long column. With one more piece of news. I won’t be here Tuesday morning. I have to be at the doctor’s office at 6:30 in the morning. For one of those procedures no one likes to talk about. But are crucial to staying healthy. Let’s just say I am already looking forward to breakfast after, as I know the two-day runup will leave me wanting solid food. Until later …